One of the most hazardous things about being a touring musician is theft. It doesn’t matter who you are – if theives see an opportunity, they’ll take it (especially in St. Louis). It even impacts tribute bands, as it did to Metallica tribute band Blistered Earth. Their trailer, filled with their gear, was stolen while they slept in a hotel in Portland, OR. The PRP reports that the Oregon metal community rallied around them sharing the information on social media, resulting in news coverage about the theft. But beyond that, someone came to their rescue in the biggest way possible, as Metallica themselves replaced all of their gear.
Blistered Earth drummer Shawn Murphy spoke to mirp411.com about the incident.
“From what I understand, it was actually from KATU news. That was how it got communicated to those guys [Metallica]. I got a call from a lady from Metallica HQ who said she was trying to contact me to verify who I was. Then from there they got me in touch with Metallica’s manager who asked me to send him a gear list. And so, I did, and it just kind of went from there.”
Blistered Earth is definitely grateful for James Hetfield’s generosity.
“It’s pretty awesome that they would do that. I guess it was actually James that saw the story on the website for KATU. I don’t how familiar you are with Metallica, or how closely you have followed their career, but it is fairly well documented that they had all of their gear stolen way back in the day, back when they didn’t have money to replace their gear. So, they have a first hand knowledge of how shitty this feels. But, again, I never thought it would come to this!”
Here’s what was replaced by Metallica:
“Guitars (all with cases)
1989 Gibson Explorer
ESP LTD KH 602
2007 Gibson Flying V
Peavey Grind Bass
2016 Rickenbacher Bass
Amps
Line 6 Spider Valve MKII HD100 amp headwith Line 6 FBV Shortboard MKII and Road Case
Mesa Boogie Mark V Amp Head with footswitch
Marshall JCM 800 2203X Tube Guitar Amplifier Head with Road Case
Peavey Series 402 Bass Head
B52 AT412A Guitar Cab
Peavey Bass Cab 15’’
Peavey Bass Cab 4×10’’
Marshall 1960A Guitar Cab
Pedals
Morley Bad Horsie V2 Wah Pedal
Electroharmonix Metal Muff
Boss Super Overdrive SD-1
TC Electronic Polytune
BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus
Fulltone Custom Shop ABY True-Path Pedal
Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-808
Drums
Matching TAMA Granstar kit with 2 kicks, four rack toms, two floor toms, and a snare (all with matching shark tooth lugs), 5 cymbal stands, hi hat stand, throne, and stick bag”
